Siloxymethylamines as Aminomethylation Reagents for Amines Leading to Labile Diaminomethanes That can be Trapped as Their [Mo(CO)4] Complexes

Compound Et₃SiOCH₂NMe₂ transfers Me₂NCH₂ to R₂NH (R₂=Et₂, PhMe, [Cr(η⁶‐C₆H₅)(CO)₃]Me, PhH) to form previously unknown diaminomethanes, Me₂NCH₂NR₂ and, in the case of R₂=PhH, the triamine Me₂NCH₂N(Ph)CH₂NMe₂. The diaminomethanes exhibit an unreported disproportionation to a mixture of (R₂N)₂CH₂, (Me₂N)₂CH₂, and Me₂NCH₂NR₂, which can be trapped as their [Mo(CO)₄(diamine)] complexes. Whereas PhMeNCH₂NMe₂ is a labile material, the metal‐substituted ([(η⁶‐C₆H₅)Cr(CO)₃]MeNCH₂NMe₂ is a stable material. The triamine Me₂NCH₂N(Ph)CH₂NMe₂ is unstable with respect to transformation to 1,3,5‐triphenyltriazine, but is readily trapped as the bidentate‐triamineMo(CO)₄. All metal complexes were characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction.